


under the mistletoe

by duelistkingdom



Series: 12 days of Christmas 2020 [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Christmas, First Kiss, Jewish Character, M/M, Post-Canon, Yami Yuugi | Atem Has His Own Body, anzu is the best wingwoman, jewish mutou yuugi, mistletoe kiss, non christmas celebrating character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28048017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duelistkingdom/pseuds/duelistkingdom
Summary: christmas dates is a fairly established tradition. too bad atem's never heard of such a thing.
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi | Atem
Series: 12 days of Christmas 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054562
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27





	under the mistletoe

There was something really nice about how Atem got so excited by snow. The first time Atem had ever seen snow, it had been through Yugi’s eyes. Yugi, for his part, had seen snow more than enough times by the time Atem entered his life to cease being excited by it. Ever since Atem got his own body to experience things first hand himself, Yugi simply spent time admiring Atem’s enthusiasm about the modern world. To be fair, at this point, most of Yugi’s aversion to snow could be chalked up to the fact that it was going to be him shoveling snow. Ever since Yugi was eight, it was always his job to shovel the snow so that way his poor grandfather’s back didn’t get thrown out. It was for that reason that Yugi was more than happy to do the chore and it was that reason that he wound up shoveling snow for some of their neighbors too.

Atem offered to help Yugi shovel snow. Of course he offered to help. Yugi would hear nothing of it. Since Yugi was eight, this had been his job and he wasn’t going to foist it off to Atem. It was tradition and while it was a sucky tradition, he wasn’t going to arbitrarily break it. Granted, this was only one of the man traditions that Yugi considered the worst about the holidays. “Other me, shoveling snow is a miserable task,” Yugi said as he pulled his jacket on, “Trust me: you don’t want snow to be spoiled for you like this.”

“It doesn’t seem right for me to just enjoy it while you do work, partner,” Atem countered, despite the fact that he had no snow gear of his own. Yugi’s own mother had stated that they would get Atem snow gear soon enough but for now, he would have to rely on the coats and boots that Yugi’s father had left behind.

Of course. “Then you can just build a fire in the fireplace and make me some hot chocolate for when I’m done,” Yugi said as he finished bundling up by pulling his scarf taunt around his mouth. “I’ll be back in a few hours and I’m sure to be freezing by then. Be nice to come home to something warm.”

Yugi quickly ducked out of the house before Atem could protest further. As much as he appreciated the offer for help, Yugi needed time alone to think. Ever since Atem had gained a body of his own, Yugi was nervous all the time. There was only so many times a handsome guy like Atem could invade Yugi’s personal space before it started to have an effect on his brain. So what he wanted time to think about on his own was... should he ask Atem out? It was something that he’d been thinking over since Atem got to stay, really.

It was what occupied his mind as he shoveled the sidewalks. That was the thing about this kind of work: it allowed freedom to think over things he normally wouldn’t allow himself to think about. He mulled over the options of how Atem would react to him going for it. Option one: Atem says yes and they go on their date. From there, it branched out into option one point one where they had a lovely time on their date and starting dating. Nice. Then there was option one point two, where they had a lovely time but they decide they’re better off friends. He could live with that. Option one point three: they have an awful time and never talk to each other again. Bad, but still not even close to the worst case scenario.

Worst case scenario, Atem rejects him and they fall apart and Atem fully hates him. Okay, he chided himself, stop thinking about the doomsday scenario. Clearly, that wouldn’t happen. Atem was a reasonable guy, Yugi reminded himself as he noticed he was starting to run out of snow to shovel. Great. That meant that he’d have to go back inside and he never came up with an answer to what to do. If Anzu were here and not in New York City, she’d just tell him to ask him to go to Disneyland Tokyo with him on Christmas and then he’d have his answer. Oh.. of course. Of course, Yugi thought as he realized that it’d been staring him in the face the whole time.

By the time he got back inside, all he had to do was steel his nerves to ask Atem out. That was all he had to do. He entered the Kame Game Shop to see Atem standing in the doorway, holding a mug that was filled with hot chocolate and a strange look in Atem’s eyes. He couldn’t pin down exactly what it was as he shrugged his winter coat off. “I’m guessing this means there’s a nice fire to relax in front of?”

Atem nodded as he pressed the mug into Yugi’s hands, the warmth from the chocolate instantly warming Yugi’s hands. The one thing that Yugi noticed was that no matter how touchy feely Atem got with him, he rarely interacted with Yugi’s hands. Perhaps this was due to the burn marks that covered them that now made his hands get cold first now. While the scars were old now, they still looked as fresh as the day he got them. They never talked much about the fire, about Yugi assembling the puzzle as the room burned around him, nor of the resulting scars. But they were there and Atem barely touched Yugi’s hands if he could help it.

Yugi knew why, of course. It had been talked about, hashed out, and no matter what, Yugi couldn’t find a way to soothe Atem’s guilt over the scars upon his hands. Nothing he seemed to do assured Atem that it wasn’t his fault and that he wanted to assemble the puzzle to see him again. This was enough to waver Yugi’s confidence in asking Atem out. Still, if he never took a shot... he’d never know. So when they settled in front of the fireplace, Yugi took a moment to appreciate the feeling of Atem next to him. Took a moment to marvel over the fire in front of him. Finally, the moment came and Yugi steeled himself. “Hey, other me?” Atem hummed at the familiar nickname, nuzzling into his neck. Yugi flushed and decided now was the best time to ask before he lost his nerve completely. “Would you like to go to Disneyland with me on Christmas?”

The implication was clear enough, right? Christmas and Disneyland were inherently romantic, right? Yugi’s heart was beating so loud that he was certain that Atem could hear it. “Sure,” Atem said with a gentle smile, “I’d love to.”

Yugi overthought everything about his outfit for his date with Atem. He wound up going for warmth and choosing to keep the leather pants. Everything about his mind was buzzing as he and Atem made it into Disneyland and the rather casual air Atem held. Of course Atem wouldn’t be nervous. Yugi sometimes he wished he could be as confident as Atem was most of the time and while he’d gotten better at it, he still wasn’t exactly the best at it. Atem insisted it was just in faking it until it was true. As the day went on, however, it became easier to relax. Atem was always just a soothing presence in general and the excitement he had was infectious.

Atem held Yugi’s hand the whole day and Yugi was enthralled by how firm Atem’s grip was. It was sure and Yugi liked that. They found that Atem did not like roller coasters but he did like the other activities offered up. Yugi didn’t mind giving up the roller coasters if it meant Atem was having a good time. The entire time, Yugi was trying to build up the nerve to give Atem a kiss. Every single time, he chickened out. A first kiss happened only once and Yugi wanted it to be just right. Just as Yugi’s plucked up the nerve, Atem’s phone rang and to Yugi’s great disappointment, he actually pulled out his phone to check it. “Oh,” Atem said, “It’s Anzu!”

Of course Atem answered. Yugi didn’t begrudge him that. It was Anzu – of course he had to answer. They both missed Anzu greatly but she was chasing down her dreams in New York City. Yugi had been so proud of Anzu when she got into the international study program but it meant that they rarely got to talk to Anzu anymore because of the time zone difference. Not only that, it was a FaceTime call! So Yugi leaned in close so he could get a better view and there Anzu was on screen with a bright grin. “Atem,” she said, “Yugi! Hey, happy Christmas! How’s it going over there? Did you guys get anything good for Hannakuh?”

“Yui got me a very nice leatherbound journal with my name inscribed in it so I won’t forget anything again. That was nice,” Atem said and Yugi softly smiled. Atem was underselling his reaction. Yugi thought he had might cry when he saw the gift and realized the underlying meaning in the gift: Yugi’s mom accepted him as part of the family. Yugi had been so nervous that his mother might react poorly to Atem but instead she welcomed him with open arms. “And gr – Sugoroku got me this nice leather jacket. I thought that was more than enough but...” He frowned. “They kept giving me a gift every day?”

Yugi laughed. “That’s because it’s tradition to get a gift every night,” Yugi teased. “Why do you think I had a gift ready every night?”

Atem’s eyes widened and he looked rather sheepish. “I suppose that makes sense... I thought you were just being nice,” he admitted. “Hey, Anzu, did you get anything nice for Christmas?”

Anzu grinned as she rolled over, revealing she must be in her dorm room. “My roommate actually left for home so I’m counting having the room to myself as a Christmas gift,” she said, turning the phone around to show off the empty dorm room. Yugi noted her roommate was a little messy. That must be driving Anzu a little bit nuts. “Mom and dad said they sent a present but it hasn’t arrived yet. So I have no idea what I’m getting for Christmas.”

“Well, Yugi took me to Disneyland,” Atem said rather conversationally and Yugi’s cheeks lightly turned pink as Anzu’s eyes widened in realization. “Does that count as a Christmas present?”

“Oh my god!” Anzu sat up, looking extremely apologetic. “I am so, so sorry! I didn’t know you two were on a date! I would’ve called later if I’d known! Oh my god, you two should get back to your date.”

And then something settled deep in Yugi’s stomach as Atem looked confused as a result. Suddenly, it hit Yugi that he never actually used the word ‘date’. “What... What do you mean?” Oh, this was _embarrassing_. Yugi felt his cheeks turn bright red as Atem looked over at him. Great, now Atem knew Yugi was embarrassed. “Why would Anzu think this is a date?”

Anzu, for her part, looked equally embarrassed. She knew very well about Yugi’s crush on Atem and how it had only grown since Atem had gotten his own body. Suddenly, there was an actual chance of something working out between them. Anzu had been the one to encourage Yugi to just go for it and it was very clear she didn’t know what to say at this point. “Er... well... it’s Disneyland Tokyo... at Christmas,” she said slowly and it was a realization for both Anzu and Yugi that Atem must not know of the tradition. After all... Yugi had no reason to really remember the tradition. “That’s... isn’t that a date?”

“Is it,” Atem asked, sounding genuinely surprised. Yugi couldn’t find his voice anymore and he wished the Earth would just open up and swallow him whole. “Partner, is this a date?”

“Oh, Yugi, I’m really sorry for this but,” Anzu said and Yugi immediately reached for the phone, attempting to hang up on Anzu. Unfortunately, Atem was just slightly taller and could hold it just out of Yugi’s reach. Now that just wasn’t fair. “Atem, Yugi has like... the biggest crush on you,” Anzu continued on, clear as day despite the phone being almost a foot away from the both of them and Yugi looked away from Atem, “and he definitely asked you to Disneyland Tokyo with the intention of this being a date! Again, Yugi, really sorry! And oh, would you look at the time, I have to go!”

 _Traitor_ , Yugi thought as Anzu hung up with a cheery ‘bye’ and leaving Yugi to deal with the fall out of Atem now knowing he has a crush on him. Atem’s eyes blazed like a fire and Yugi knew he was blushing too hard to cover up the truth. “I don’t think Anzu would have any reason to lie,” Atem quietly remarked and at this point, Yugi was terrified of the very real chance Atem didn’t return his feelings. What would happen then? Yugi could feel his heart beating in his throat. And then Atem’s hand took his, fingers interlacing. “You know... I think I really can count this as a Christmas present then.”

Yugi looked up at Atem sharply and noticed that Atem was actually _smiling_. That was a good sign. “Does... does that mean you’re okay with this being a date?”

“Of course,” Atem said, laughing. “In fact... I’ve been wanting to ask you for the longest time but... I kept getting nervous.”

Atem? Nervous? The two words didn’t really fit together in Yugi’s head. “You should’ve went for it,” Yugi half teased, lightly squeezing Atem’s hand as he moved in closer. Elated didn’t even begin to describe how Yugi felt right now. “Showing you this particular Christmas tradition could’ve been less confusing then.”

“Oh, this is a tradition,” Atem asked with a raised eyebrow. “Does that mean I can look forward to another visit to Disneyland with you next year? Cause I’ve been having a great time.”

Yugi laughed and nodded. Of course he would take Atem on another date like this next year. Atem could have all the dates he wanted, actually. “You know, there’s one more Christmas tradition I didn’t get to explain,” Yugi said, feeling a lot bolder now that he knew Atem had been wanting to go out with him for the longest time now. In fact, he was over the moon with joy right now. His fingers were interlaced with Atem’s as he pointed up towards the mistletoe they were standing under. “Whenever you stand under that plant up there, you have to kiss whoever you’re standing next to.”

Atem looked up and grinned. “Well, who am I to argue with tradition,” he teasingly asked as he moved in closer. Yugi’s breath hitched as Atem’s other gloved hand moved up to his cheek, his thumb lightly pressed against his lips. He noticed Atem’s eyes were focused squarely on his lips and he took that as an invitation. He pressed his lips to Atem’s and smiled softly into the gentle kiss. Atem squeezed Yugi’s hand as he pulled Yugi in closer and Yugi snaked an arm around Atem underneath his jacket.

There was no space left between them, just like how Yugi liked it. Atem was so warm, so welcoming in the bitter cold. Yugi couldn’t get enough of Atem and when they broke apart, Yugi was grinning. “I suppose you really can’t argue with tradition sometimes,” Yugi said. “Mhm... we should finish our date, yeah?”

“Absolutely,” Atem said before kissing Yugi again. Yugi decided tradition wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
